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SALVATION IS FOREVER
Chaim, a saint and elect by the will of God to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ who are in the world over, greetings in the peace of Christ from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ , praying
for all of you daily, that your faith be strengthened in these times of ever increasing apostasy and grave error.
What a Savior we have in Jesus. Through him "once saved
always saved" is a God enforced truth. We believe the beautiful gospel. So many of us have walked the path of doubt as to
our salvation after conduct unbecoming a saint. And because of a lack of bible study, or the failure of good counsel, we have
found ourselves between a rock and hard place.
The demons gleefully jump up and down on the t.v screen and The Prince
of this world makes his accusations before our Father. And Jesus says "My blood is on this one" and The Father says "its done".
We
are not greater, smarter or more slick than Satan. He could destroy our life in a moment. We are in Christ and He is in us.
Be mindful that which is in us (The Holy Spirit) is greater than that spirit who is the ruler of this world.
Such as it is, error and heresy fall upon us
from all sides, promoted by wolves in sheeps clothing. Even more dangerous, it comes from misinformed brethren
who think it not too dangerous to promolgate nonfoundational teachings as if they were given some gift by God.
2 Timothy 2:15: "Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:19: "Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every
one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
But they do err and dishonor His power and glory, His word
and His Testament in His blood, that those He has known, chosen and called could ever be lost again into perdition and eternal
separation from His Glory.
THE ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OF YOUR SALVATION:
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God loves us and gave us Jesus Christ, unto eternal life, in our family
of faith, the church. He guarantees our salvation once we believe on Him and His finished work on our behalf for remission
of our sins and washing by His blood. He did it and still does it by His precious blood in Heaven as our High Priest.
Hebrews 1:1-3:
1 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"
Hebrews 9:11-15
11"But Christ being
come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building;
12 Neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us.
13 For if the blood
of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from
dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this
cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."
1 Cor.6:20
20 "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's."
Romans 3:25
25 "Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God;"
He came to remit not only our sins in the future from His time
but those "sins that are past" of those who lived before the cross who were of the faith such as Abel who was a man of faith
and obediant to God's instuctions to bring a sacrifice of a lamb looking ahead to the day of Christ who is the Lamb of God
and God Himself who gave each of us life eternal who believe in Him.
Romans 10:17
17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 3:30
30 "Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith."
2 Cor.5:18
18 "And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ..."
HE DID IT! Just as He KEEPS US IN HIM NOW! We can do nothing
to gain it or to lose it! It is in His authority and power to keep us. We are a love gift to Him from His Father who is our
Father through Him. We are adopted into His house and granted an equal share in His legacies because:
HE KNEW US BEFORE WE WERE BORN, CHOOSE US, CALLED
US IN THE NOW, AND WE ARE HIS ELECT BRIDE AND CHURCH...ALL BY HIS DOING AND WE CANNOT NOT WILL NOT UNDO ONE IOTA OF IT BY
OUR WORKS OR LACK OF THEM!
Ephesians 1:3
3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ:"
John 6:37
37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
Colossians 1:21-22
21
"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of
his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight:"
And has sealed us, a FINISHED TRANSACTION,
with the Holy Spirit when we first believed.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is
the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
The Holy Spirit is Himself the seal. In the symbolism of
Scriptures a seal signifies a finished transaction, ownership and
security.
John 17:4
"I have glorified thee on the
earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
Jeremiah 32:11-12
11 "So I took the
evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12 And I gave the
evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and
in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the
prison."
The salvation we are blessed to have was
not earned by us but was given by His grace. What God does in grace is a done deal in eternity.
Ephesians 2:8
8 "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,it
is the gift of God"
In Christ we are forgiven
of all our sins and washed in His blood
Ephesians 1:7
7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"
We are a new creation!
2 Corintians 5:17
17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new."
Holy AND Without Blame.
Ephesians 1:4
4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love:"
One Of God's Elect.
Colossians 3:12
12 "Put
on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;"
Romans 8:33
33"Who
shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth."
Established To The End
1 Corinthians 1:8
8 "Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reconciled To God And Free From Condemnation
2 Corintians 5:18
18 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation;"
Romans 8:1
1
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Beloved of God and delivered from
the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of his dear Son
Col.1:12-14
12
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:"
Access by one Spirit to the Father
Ephesians 2:18
18 "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father."
Hebrews.4:16
16"Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in time of need"
HE KEEPS US SAVED
He KEEPS us saved no matter what, because He is
the worker behind our eternal life, not we. Our life now and forever is guaranteed by His faithful service to all of mankind,
ever, who believe on Him.
When we sin we go to our Father and have a loving
talk telling GOD what we did and how we feel about it as HIS son or daughter and do so in Jesus name. GOD forgives because
His SON died for us and will remember the sins NO MORE.
And if we have unconfessed sin
in our lives we lose FELLOWSHIP but not salvation (1 John 1: 6-10; 2:1-2).
When
we need help He will answer us with blessings that HE knows is best for us according to HIS will for us (1 John 5:14-15).
God has
told us that the MORE we study HIS word the closer we will walk with HIM and the stronger we will get. HIS word is the truth.
It is LIFE for us. We are not like the world. The world is not for GOD it is for itself! (1 John 2:15-17; 3:1-3; 4:2-3).
The Holy Spirit will help you understand the bible and the words of GOD to you. It is the greatest gift you
will ever get besides Jesus Christ. GLORY TO GOD. HE loves us so much and has made
sure our life is in HIS hands (John
10:27-29: Romans 8:28-39 ).
The spiritual blessings which you and I have been given are in accord with the divine will and in perfect
unison with God's purpose. We are to open our gift to see what God has done for us and then move out IN FAITH and lay hold
of them and live on His high plane He has brought us in Christ. This was God's plan before creation.
The church was planned, God
the Son paid for us, and God the Holy Spirit protects us. The source of all our blessings is God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The source of our salvation is not of ourselves (works), God is. (Eph.2:8-9).
God
planned our salvation before we were! Christ came down in time to deliver it in His completed work on the cross. The Holy
Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin. He brings us to a place of faith in Christ and to a saving knowledge of the grace
of God that is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. God does the saving and we, the sinning.
We were lost and He found
us! God chose us before the foundation of the world. He did not choose us because we were good! He chose us so that we could
do some good. It is by His sovereign will and His goodness and wisdom that we are here now serving Him.
"You have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you..."(John 15:16)
"...that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love"
God's choice of us was in order to sanctify us that we might be holy. A holy life is demanded by God's
election. We don't then go out and do as we please (Rom.6:1-2). We can't use grace as a license
to sin. If we are living IN SIN it is because we are sinners who haven't been saved. A sinner who has been saved will show
a change in his way of living.
We are elect of God that we should also be "without blame". God chose Israel and would
not allow Balaam to curse Israel or to find fault with His people (Num.23:21). But God found fault
with them AND JUDGED THEM in order to sanctify and purify them. God will discipline us when sin is present and un-confessed.
If
there is no evidence of change in our lives then we must ask ourselves, "are we one of His elect"? This is what we look for,
and God has made provision to absolve us from our sins which all of us do (1 John 2:1-2).
The fact that we know we sin
is a change in our life! There is NO limited atonement. Christ died for the world as this verse shows.
"And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the world" (1 John 2:2)
The call of God has gone out to the whole world.
If we hear it and respond, according to our free will, then we are one of the "elect" (John 6:37).
Some chose not to. They are the lost.
"CHOSEN US IN HIM"
"But we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved in the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereby he called you to our gospel, to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 2 :13-14).
Peter writes in 1
Pet. 1:2, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ..."
"Having predestined us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph.1:5).
We need to know that we have been chosen in Him in order to stand for God today.
This assurance will make a world of difference in our life.
The elect are the whosoever wills and the non-elect
are the whosoever wonts according to His purpose.
Predestination means
that when God saves you He will see you through to the end.
This is all about our sanctification, our spiritual
development. It is the work of God in the heart and life of the believer.
Our salvation and development as a
son and daughter of God is guaranteed by His perfection and His responsibility towards us. Jesus is the author and finisher
of the faith He gave us in Him. No one will be lost who is found in Christ according to God's predetermination. See Luke15
and the parable of the one lost sheep. There were 99 left but that one who strayed was as important as the 99. All of us are
of equal importance with God. This is election! God will NOT lose one of us!
(Rom.8:28-39).
Paul says in
Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus..." And expands
that truth to it's conclusive triumph in Romans 8:33:
"Who shall lay any thing to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that justifies."
Nothing can change what is ours through the Lord and our faith in His blood
sacrifice that cleaned us forever...and does so each day.
Paul continues: in Romans 8:34-39:
"Who
is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, and that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession
for us".
Now hear what the Spirit, through Paul, has to say:
"What shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. In all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything created, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
Now let's hear what Jesus has to say in John 10:27-28:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them ETERNAL
LIFE"
He goes on to add in verse 28-29:
"And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave me to them, is greater than all; and no man is able
to take them out of my Father's hand".
You see it is not us who holds on but God who holds us. God is supreme and all
powerful. Once saved always saved is guaranteed by Jesus.
HAVE YOU REACHED THIS POINT? YOU DO WELL.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU IN HIS WORD. IT IS YOUR LIFE, YOUR TRUTH, YOUR SECURITY AND THE ROADMAP TO ETERNITY!
YOU ARE HIS
You were His from before the earth was made
His to
bless His heart of Love
You were His to give Him the glory
His while you waited in the womb of your blessed mother
Your
days were known to Him
Your faithfulness guaranteed
The hairs on your head counted
Your breaths measured
Your
life in His hands
You were His for eternity
His when you first awoke from a death's sleep
His in your moments of
doubt
His in the battle
His when you rise and lay down
He will never give you up
You are His precious possession
His
no matter what transpires
His in the New Jerusalem
You are His in love forever
You are because He is.
(1)
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was" (John 17:5).
(2) "Father, I will that they also, whom thou has given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou has given me:
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24)
(3) "Who hath saved us, and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (II Tim. 1:9).
(4) "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory" (I Cor.2:7).
(5) "In hope of eternal life, which God, that
cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2).
CONCLUSION
His love, in He who gave His
life for us, we aspire to reach in full, that in OUR LIFETIME, we might kiss this dawn of forever, where eternal love abides,
through the slow extinction of our dead "self" we seek so badly for GOD to make disappear.
So that in trials and infirmities,
we rejoice in Him , and see exposed, more of His glory, as we are filled with The Spirit. For it is clear, His grace is sufficient,
when He can freely move in us, through our weakness, then when we are dead to Him in self will, and lost in the futile wars
of our old mind, and our failure to grow on the truths of His Word .
Chaim,
Your Brother in Christ
Difficult Passages Used To Question The Security Of The Believer
Explained
Case 1: The unforgivable sin
Mark 3:22-30,
NKJV
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,"He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts
out demons."
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 If a kingdom
is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26
And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
27 No one can enter a strong
man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
28 "Assuredly,
I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
29 but he who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" --
30 because they said, "He has
an unclean spirit."
Matthew 12:22-32, NKJV
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute;
and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could
this be the Son of David?"
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by
Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out Satan,
he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your
sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom
of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the
strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with
Me scatters abroad.
31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against
the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
That Jesus was
working mighty miracles among the people of His day was undeniable. The lame walked, the dumb spoke, the deaf heard, the dead
arose and the demon-possessed were set free.
The religious scribes and Pharisees who were against Jesus could not ignore
or deny the miracles performed by Him, especially those that were done right before their eyes and in front a large crowd
of witnesses. So they had two choices: To attribute Jesus' miraculous powers to the Spirit of God, or to attribute His powers
to a demonic spirit. Of course, they did the second.
Jesus told the people that He cast out demons by the Spirit of
God or the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). But the scribes said to the people, "He has Beelzebub. By the ruler of the demons
He casts out demons." The Pharisees said the same thing: "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler
of the demons."
In other words, they credited the wonderful and gracious works of God that were setting oppressed folks
free to the most evil being -- Beelzebub, the prince of demons. They rejected the obvious truth before them and perversely
twisted it to influence the crowds. By doing this, they were also implying that Jesus was a sorcerer in league with Satan.
That
was how hardened and firmly set their hearts were against accepting Jesus as the Messiah. They kept rejecting the Christ despite
all the proof given by the Holy Spirit. Their blaspheming against the Holy Spirit was equivalent to rejecting Christ with
such finality that no future repentance was possible.
This is the unpardonable or unforgivable sin -- permanently rejecting
all attempts of the Holy Spirit to draw one to Christ. Pre-cross, the Holy Spirit's role was to empower Jesus to perform all
sorts of miracles (Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38), thereby proving that He is the Messiah. Post-cross, the Holy Spirit's role is to
confirm the gospel with signs and wonders (Acts 14:3. Romans 15:18-20), as well as to convict the world of sin (John 16:8-9).
What sin is that? It is the sin of all sins -- unbelief in the Christ, which only non-believers can be convicted of.
The
unpardonable sin is not this idea of speaking generally against the Holy Spirit. For example, some Christians believe that
they are on their way to hell because they had a bad thought towards the Holy Spirit or because they had said some unkind
words to Him. Then, there are some Charismatic Christians who say that traditional Christians who attribute speaking in tongues,
holy laughter or miraculous healing to demons have committed the unpardonable sin. They say that such Christians have spoken
against the Holy Spirit and are thus hell-bound. All that is simply not true and it just shows a lack of understanding of
what blaspheming against the Holy Spirit really is. Those who believe such nonsense should read the verses again in context.
When
the scribes and Pharisees spoke against the Holy Spirit, it was because their hearts were already firmly set against accepting
Jesus as the Messiah. Their sin was the permanent rejection of Christ as their Saviour. But when traditional Christians speak
unknowingly and unintentionally against the Holy Spirit by attributing tongues, holy laughter and other supernatural manifestations
to demons, it simply shows their ignorance of Scripture and even their fear of the supernatural.
They simply do not
believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still for today. Most of them are just naive and do not know any better. Therefore,
they attribute supernatural manifestations in the church to trickery, psychology, science or demons. But they are certainly
not rejecting Jesus as their Saviour. How can they be when they are already Christians? And they are certainly not out to
blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Why would any Christian want to speak against the Spirit of God?
Case
2: 'Not all who call Me Lord, Lord...'
Matthew 7:21
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
A rule of thumb in Bible study
is to interpret difficult verses in the light of simple, clear-cut ones. We cannot build doctrines on one or two difficult
verses.
That said, many have taken the above verse to mean that Christians can lose their salvation if they do not
do what God tells them to do. To them, the "will of my Father" means just about everything God tells them to do.
But
if that is true, who can enter heaven? Who can obey God perfectly all the time?
Obviously, the "will of my Father"
here is not to be interpreted generally as "anything and everything that God tells us to do". So, what is it, specifically?
The
context of the verse is salvation -- "enter the kingdom of heaven". So, the Father's "will" should relate, specifically, to
salvation, and it does.
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John
6:39
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up
at the last day.
John 6:40
40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall
have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
1 John 3:23
And this is his command: to believe in
the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to
love one another as he commanded us.
God's will in Matthew 7:21 is simply
salvation for man. In fact, He is not willing that anyone should perish.
Matthew 18:14
14 In the same way your Father
in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping
his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
How,
then, do we fulfill the will of God in Matthew 7:21? What should we do? Actually, there's nothing we can do except to believe,
since everything that needs to be done for man to be saved has already been done perfectly by Christ Jesus. We cannot add
to it. Our part is simply to believe.
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one
he has sent."
1 John 3:23
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love
one another as he commanded us.
So, in Matthew 7:21, Jesus is saying that only those who believe in Him will enter
the kingdom of heaven. He is not saying that He will reject some Christians because they were not obedient enough. If entering
heaven depended on our obedience, we would all fry -- and rightfully so!
Case 3: 'I never knew you...'
Matthew
7:22,23
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons
and perform many miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
"On
that day" refers to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns to earth in power and great glory (Matthew
24:30) to reign as King for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4,6).
At that time, many non-believers will call Him "Lord"
out of fear or because it will be apparent to them that He is the Christ. But it will be too late then. The time is up. They
should have believed earlier. They can't be saved now by calling Him "Lord" since faith is no longer required -- they can
see with their own eyes that Jesus is Lord.
Therefore, Jesus will tell these people that He never knew them and to
depart from Him. After all, they never had a personal relationship with Him, and calling Him "Lord" then will just be a vain
attempt to start one.
But how can we be sure that these people are not Christians who had, at some point in their lives,
lost their salvation (assuming that it is possible for a Christian to lose his salvation)?
The clue lies in the word
"never" when Jesus says, "I never knew you". If Jesus is addressing Christians who had "lost their salvation", He would be
lying if He said "never" because He would have known them at least once -- perhaps the first 10 years of their Christian life
before they "lost their salvation".
So, who are these people who prophesied, drove out demons and performed miracles?
It
must be noted that the "evildoers" themselves are making these claims, not Jesus. It sure sounds like they are saying those
things in a desperate attempt to gain the Lord's recognition and acceptance.
Perhaps it will be Syed Baba, some Taoist
spiritualist or a cult leader saying those things "on that day", with a misguided belief that they had performed all those
counterfeit miracles in the name of God, whom they now realize is Jesus.
Today, such non-believers do have demonic
power to sort "heal" the sick, "tell" the future and "drive out" another demon if the demon whom they serve holds a higher
authority in Satan's kingdom.
Such exorcists often invoke a higher spirit to get rid of a lower one. But a demon's
retreat which draws attention to another of Satan's servants would only be a strategic retreat. The "deliverance" is thus
not long-lasting and worse, it usually comes with a price -- the demon doing the job will want something in return.
Case 4:If you deny Him, He will deny you
2 Timothy 2:11-13
11 This is a faithful saying: For
if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Is
there a similar passage in the Bible that helps us understand what Paul is saying?
Yes, there is in the gospel of Matthew.
Here Jesus Himself talks about disowning Him:
Matthew 10:32-35
32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him
I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before
My Father who is in heaven.
34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
If
you look at the context of Matthew 10, Jesus is talking to the Jews about Him coming to the earth and Israel, and the Jews
acknowledging or not acknowledging Him as their Messiah.
So He, like Paul, is telling the Jews, "Look if you reject,
deny or disown Me as Messiah, I will also reject, deny and disown you."
The gospel of Matthew is written to the Jews.
That is why the term "kingdom of heaven" appears rather than "kingdom of God". The Jews don't say the name of God because
they fear taking God's name in vain. It is the reason Messianic Jews spell "God" as "G_d".
So 2 Timothy 2:11-13 is
not talking about a Christian losing his salvation because he chooses to deny or disown Christ. (Whenever we make such statements,
we are ignoring the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian.)
What is comforting though is that same passage says
that when we are faithless, Jesus remains faithful. So even during those difficult times when you are angry at God and you
turn away from Him and even deny Him, "He remains faithful" and will help you get back on your feet again!
Here is
a verse in that helps us understand what "He remains faithful" means. Again let the Bible interpret the Bible.
1 Corinthians
1:8-9,
8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God,
who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Case 5: Those
who 'fall away'
Hebrews 6:4-8
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted
the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers
of the coming age,
6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the
Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and
that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.
8 But land that produces thorns
and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
The book of Hebrews (as its
name implies) was written to Jewish believers and non-believers, not so much to the Gentile church, although Gentile Christians
can benefit greatly by reading the book. Contrast this book to Paul's epistles to the churches and the difference is quite
clear. In fact, the very first verse of the book of Hebrews tells us, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways." The author says, "our forefathers", which means that he is addressing his fellow
Jews because God spoke to their forefathers through the prophets. So unless you are a Jew, "our forefathers" does not include
your forefathers.
The Jews were deeply entrenched in the laws, customs and sacrifices of Judaism. That is why Hebrews
focuses on the fact that Jesus is the final sacrifice and the High Priest of high priests, and that He supersedes Moses, Abraham
and all the other heroes of faith mentioned in the Old Testament (Hebrews 12:2).
Due to spiritual blindness (John 12:40,
Romans 11:7), the Jews had failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They rejected His message of salvation by grace and crucified
Him.
Now, after knowing better -- having "been enlightened", having had the gospel explained to them via the Apostles,
having seen miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts -- if they continue to reject Christ, they are in a sense putting
Jesus back on the cross -- "crucifying the Son of God all over again".
In fact, in chapter 2, the author already gives
them this warning:
Hebrews 2:3
3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
Is it possible
that persons "who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word
of God and the powers of the coming age" can be non-believers?
Yes. Judas Iscariot was one such person. He had been
with Jesus for about three years, sat under His teaching and even seen the power Jesus demonstrated through the Holy Spirit.
Yet, Judas was not a believer. He never addressed Jesus as "Lord". You cannot find this in the Bible. Judas had only addressed
Jesus as "Master" (Matthew 26:25).
Similarly, today, there are many people who have "tasted" Jesus and the gospel,
seen miracles performed right in front of them or even on them, and yet turn away from God. They are the "land" that has been
rained on, yet does not produce any crop but thorns and thistles only (verse 8).
Note also that the verse only says
"enlightened", "tasted" and "shared". These are not words the Bible associates with being saved. We know that salvation is
by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We don't get saved by being "enlightened", by "tasting" or by "sharing". All that
is good but we must still believe in our hearts and confess Jesus as our Lord and righteousness (Romans 10:9).
Finally,
let's not forget to read verses 9 and 10 as well.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident
of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation.
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and
the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Here, the writer suddenly shifts
his focus to the "beloved", as opposed to those who have tasted and rejected Christ. He tells them that although he has said
those negative things (verses 4 to 6, 8), he is confident of better things in their case, "things that accompany salvation",
not condemnation. He goes on to assure them that God is not unrighteous to forget their works of love done in the name of
Jesus.
Again, these two verses show that there are two groups being addressed in the entire passage: Those who reject
Christ after hearing the gospel (Hebrews 2:3) and those who are already saved. So, any Christian who feels afraid after reading
verses 4 to 6 and 8 because he thinks that they address believers, should read verses 9 and 10 as well to know that the latter
verses are not referring to Christians.
Second Interpretation Regarding Believer's
Many who have read these passages
find themselves in a state of high anxiety fearing a loss of salvation for something they did or failed to do. And there are
many bible expositors who might go along with this false and highly punitive interpretation. Take heart for what we read above
is true: salvation is assured by God once and for all time."He Keeps His Word". But REWARDS are not!
What the writer
is talking about is repentance. Repentance is something God has asked believers to DO. Look at Revelation 2 and 3.
He
says to every one of the churches to repent. The fruit of salvation are rewards. The root is Christ. The discussion here is
about the things that accompany salvation which should be the fruit of the Christian life and the rewards that come to us
as its result.
We are being warned of the danger of losing our rewards. They can burn up by our failure to repent (1
Cor.3:11-15).
The work of every Christian will be tested by fire. What we do in the flesh will burn up. What we do
in the power of The Spirit will bring rewards. One day we will come before the judgment seat of Christ, not for punishment,
but for hopeful commendation.
Has your life counted for Him? Is He first? Oh how we all need Him to be FIRST.
Case 6: Those who 'sin willfully'
Hebrews 10:26-30
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received
the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the
testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has
trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted
the Spirit of grace?
Christians have used this passage to say that if a Christian sins willfully, he will lose his
salvation. If you think about it, most of the sins that we commit after we are saved are willful sins! We know that we should
not do it, yet we choose to do it. Does that mean that the majority of Christians are on their way to hell? The suggestion
itself is ridiculous.
Christians have also used this passage to say that if a Christian keeps sinning, he will lose
his salvation. In the first place, a Christian does not keep sinning or live a lifestyle of sin. Paul made it clear when he
said, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin
live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2)
So if the willful sin here has nothing to do with a Christian sinning today,
albeit willfully, what is it then?
As explained in Case 3, Hebrews is written mainly to the believing and unbelieving
Jews. Under the old covenant of law, the priests had to offer animal sacrifices for the sins of the Israelites year after
year because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4), but only cover their sins until the next
sacrifice. That is why these animal sacrifices could not make the offerers perfect (Hebrews 10:1). Neither could they clear
the offerers' consciousness of sins. In fact, they reminded them of their sins (Hebrews 10:3), causing them to have a sin
consciousness or what the Bible calls an "evil conscience" (Hebrews 10:22).
But now that the true Lamb of God has come
and taken away their sins (John 1:29) once for all (Hebrews 7:27) through one perfect sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 10:12)
to end all animal sacrifices, if the Jews continue to reject the Christ, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (verse
26). Christ is it. If they reject Him as their sacrifice for sins, there is no other sacrifice for sins that they can turn
to. The system of animal sacrifices has ended or expired. Christ is not going to come down to die for them again. Neither
does God the Father have a "plan B" of some sort. Christ is it!
So the willful sin of the Jews here would be to reject
their Messiah. It would be willful because they would be rejecting Christ "after we have received knowledge of the truth"
(verse 26). So there were many Jews who rejected the Christ after the truth of the gospel was preached to them. And the Jews
who did this "trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing,
and insulted the Spirit of grace" (verse 29).
To count the blood a "common thing" is to put the eternal blood of the
Son of God on the same level as the temporal blood of animals. To insult the Spirit of grace is to slap God's hand of grace,
to reject the covenant of grace, to reject the Holy Spirit, and to go back under law, works and sacrifices.
This was
the unpardonable, willful sin of many of the unbelieving Jews. And the result was "a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries" (verse 27). Did such a terrible judgment come to pass? Yes, their
temple in Jerusalem was burned and utterly destroyed by the Romans in AD70.
So the author of Hebrews, which I believe
is Paul, was addressing his fellow Jewish brothers, both the believing and the unbelieving. For those who refused to believe
in Jesus, it was a warning. For those who believed, it was an exhortation to hold on their faith and not "draw back" (Hebrews
10:38). This does not mean that many of the believing Jews drew back by renouncing their faith and thus lost their salvation.
The passage does not say that. In fact, Paul said, "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe
to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:39)
Case 7: Those who 'turn their backs'
2
Peter 2:20,21
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again
entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
21 It would have been better
for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command
that was passed on to them.
Who are "they" here? It becomes clear when we read the whole chapter. In fact, verse 1
already tells us that "they" are the "false teachers" (and the like) who deny Christ. And people who deny Christ cannot be
Christians.
2 Peter 2:1
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers
among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift
destruction on themselves.
The entire chapter talks about the terribly sinful lifestyles of these people and the punishment
that awaits them. Besides introducing "destructive heresies", they are "not afraid to slander celestial beings", "blaspheme
in matters they do not understand", behave like "brute beasts", "carouse in broad daylight", have "eyes full of adultery",
"every stop sinning", are "experts in greed", "appeal to the lustful desires of sinful human nature" and so on. People who
live like that are certainly not Christians.
Romans 6:2
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any
longer?
1 John 3:6,9
6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him
or known him.
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning,
because he has been born of God.
In fact, Peter makes a distinction between such "ungodly" and "lawless" people, and
"righteous" and "godly" Christians, when he talks about Noah's flood, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In other
words, there is a clear "they" (the lawless non-believers) and "you" (the Christian) differentiation.
2 Peter 2:5-9
5
if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness,
and seven others;
6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example
of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives
of lawless men
8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless
deeds he saw and heard)--
9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous
for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
The last verse in this chapter also shows us that Peter
is not talking about Christians.
2 Peter 2:22
22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and,
"A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
The Bible usually refers to believers as "sheep" and
non-believers as "goats" or "wolves". Here, the terms "dog" and "sow" are used. Straightaway, we know that the verse is not
referring to Christians.
Also, it does not say "a sheep transforms into a dog again and returns to its vomit". Once
you are born again and have become a "sheep" belonging to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, you cannot lose your salvation
and turn back into a goat or dog again! You will never find such analogies in the Bible. Nature itself teaches us that --
a butterfly cannot change back into a caterpillar.
Finally, "knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" or having "known
the way of righteousness" (verses 20 and 21) does not make one a Christian. There are Bible scholars who know Jesus Christ
and the gospel, and yet are not Christians.
There are people who have attended church for many years who are not born
again. My friend's mother was one such person. We both thought that she was a Christian, since she had been attending an Anglican
church for many years. One Sunday morning, she attended our church service. When our Pastor gave the altar call, to our surprise,
she raised her hand, went to the front and prayed to receive Jesus Christ into her heart.
The KJV translation shows
more clearly that verses 20 and 21 refer only to head knowledge of Jesus Christ and not genuine conversion:
2 Peter
2:20,21
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it
had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them.
In fact, in verse 21, it says that the "way of righteousness" was only "delivered"
to them, to which they rejected it by turning their backs on it. A person who has been shown the way of righteousness -- Jesus
Christ -- yet turn his back on the Saviour, is obviously not a Christian.
Case 8: The sin unto death
1
John 5:16
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for
them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
This verse has been
used to say that a Christian who commits the "sin unto death" is beyond hope, and will ultimately lose his salvation and end
up in hell. Is this true? To answer the question, we have to know just what the "sin unto death" is.
Instead of relying
on man's interpretation, let the Bible interpret the Bible. Does the Bible talk about the sin unto death elsewhere? Yes, it
does:
Romans 6:16
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom
ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
From this verse, we know that the "sin unto
death" is the opposite of "obedience unto righteousness". And in the context, "obedience unto righteousness" simply means
obeying the gospel or believing in Jesus as your Saviour and thus becoming righteous by faith.
So the opposite of that,
which is the "sin unto death", would be the rejection of Christ as your Saviour. That is the unpardonable sin (see Case 1).
That is the wilful sin (see Case 5).
What about the use of the term "brother"? Does not "brother" refer to Christians?
Not necessarily. In the Bible, "brother" can also refer to the unbelieving Jews. Paul, for instance, often called the unbelieving
Sadducees and Pharisees "my brothers":
Acts 13:38, NIV
38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through
Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
Acts 23:1, NIV
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said,
"My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day."
Acts 23:6, NIV
6 Then Paul, knowing
that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the
son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of
the dead."
IN HIM WE KISS FOREVER
His love, in He who gave His life for us, we aspire to
reach in full, that in OUR LIFETIME, we might kiss this dawn of forever, where eternal love abides, through the slow extinction
of our dead "self" we seek so badly for GOD to make disappear.
So that in trials and infirmities, we rejoice in Him
, and see exposed, more of His glory, as we are filled with The Spirit. For it is clear, His grace is sufficient, when He
can freely move in us, through our weakness, then when we are dead to Him in self will, and lost in the futile wars of our
old mind, and our failure to grow on the truths of His Word .
Because of you, Lord, we live forever.
Because of you, non else will do.
Because
of you we have a reason.
In your great love, Because of you.
Because of you, life never ending,
Because of you our
faith abides.
How could we hate when hope rejoices.
Because of you our humble adoration.
No worldly fame could claim
our joy.
For when we see your majesty awaken,
The gift of life a world begun.
Because of you the heavens Glory.
Because
of you the battle won.
Because of you no fear can hold us.
Because of you, our Father's Son.
WE WILL SERVE THE LORD
In Luke 9:23 the Lord states the imperative of a believer who lives through
Him: "...If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me"(See
Mark 8:34-38)
Jesus is our first love. He loved us before we were in our mother's womb. He gave Himself for us so that
we will live forevermore in glory with the family of Christ in the presence of God. He gave us life here, His life, through
His Spirit, that will never leave us, no never! How is our life? Are we seeking to live it through the blessings of Christ
or in the "I" of self?
"Now, therefore, fear the Lord,
and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and
in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"(Josh.24:14,15).
Isaiah 43:2-3, "When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you; When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame
scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
SAFE IN HIM
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given
them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one" (Jn.10:27-30).
SALVATION IS IN HIS GRIP!
Q) I am miserable. I failed the Lord many times. I know he forgives my sins
and his blood cleans me daily. Help me to overcome this guilt.
(A)Your salvation is secure in Christ. You are, like
Saint Paul, having a bad time of it. Confess your sins and renew fellowship with Him. Paul cried out:"O
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom.7:24). Does this mean he lost his salvation?
No, listen to Paul in Romans 8:1: "There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
All of us have failed God at one time or another. And all of us have
sinned after we became Christians. In fact God tells us, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us" (1 John.1:8).
OUR SALVATION IS GUARANTEED BY CHRIST
"...Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
in his own blood..."(Rev.1:5).
Jesus keeps us in grace, we do not.
It is His blood our Father has accepted
for all our sins.
His blood keeps us in fellowship as we confess our sins daily.
It is true the Holy Spirit will comfort,
teach, and empower us for real service, but we still sin by virtue of our fallen nature.
God is gracious to forgive us
our sins as we confess them through Jesus Christ and our fellowship with Him continues.
SALVATION IS NEVER LOST
.
God's eternal gift of everlasting life comes to us by the completed work
of Christ.
We cannot fall from grace because He cannot.
He is the author and finisher of our faith.
And He will never
leave us.
He cannot fail.
WHAT A SAVIOR WE HAVE IN JESUS!
WHAT A FATHER WE HAVE IN GOD!
GOD WILL WORK IN YOUR NATURAL WEAKNESS
2 Corinthians 12:9-11
"And He said to me, "My grace
is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
SERVICE IN HIM
Count The Costs Phil. 3:7-8
At 29 I had no idea God was directing
my life and one day would call me out to live as one of the homeless in America ,ministering to bag ladies and "bums" of whom
I was chief.
The hand of our Lord is upon us before the world was made.
Blood family, judges and lawyers of the highest
positions, record companies and top musicians, friends of long standing, even those in the work a day world I met treated
me as a leper, a man who lost his marbles.
Rejection was not enough to lure me back. The Lord strengthened me. I fed 80
homeless a day from dumpster food I retrieved behind fancy food markets. I delivered discarded bouquets of flowers to the
bag ladies I sang praise songs to at 6 am walking down the streets of glitter and scorn in downtown LA. They were my congregation.
Here
was my training field. I learned the lessons of the Holy Spirit that in becoming nothing in the world, I became someone God
could use for His glory.
HIS WORD IN YOU
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him"(Col.3:16-17).
WALK IN THE LIGHT
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk
in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:6-7
LET US BE LOVERS OF HIM AND EACH OTHER
Dearly beloved in Christ our Lord. Let us show kindness, one to another,
looking out for each other's welfare according to His word, in a manner not unbecoming a saint of God.
Let us love each
other in His love and show the lost the Spirit in the saved.
For we were bought with the precious blood of God our Savior.
Let
us live then, mindful that, but for the grace of He who saved us, we too would be lost forever in the deadness of our sins
that so easily entrap us, that He has delivered us from, into a new and eternal life through Him.
EVERYTHING GOOD IN HIS LOVE
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
and have not love, I am become as sounding bronze, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing"
From
1 Cor. 13th Chapter Saint Paul
THAT DAY
Every time I see the sky, I see The Lord, His brush, His eye.
Every time
I feel the earth, I sense The Lord, He stands beside.
The sea and mountains, oceans rage, a sun and moon in flight,
The
hand of God, in truth I swoon, the grace of Him abides.
In streets of scorn, in children's cry, the in between of live
and die,
In comfort pure, eternal life, He it is who'll end the fight.
In nations born, in pilgrims flight, I see the
hand of Almighty might.
In war and peace does man remind that God is truth and we but strife.
Why is it that we come
and go? we mourn, we try, forget and sigh?
Mortal now, one day we'll shout, "Praise the Lord" the day we rise.
Praise
GOD all you saints and priests. You believed the gospel and were chosen by God The Father for His Son.
Your Father loves
you and made you heirs of eternal life through the blessed Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is a good time to serve. God
loves us as nobody loved us. We are nothing without His love.
If love is in our life's work for Him, we strive in perfection.
Reach
out beyond the reality of this lost world and love somebody.
Tell them the truth about Jesus, the mighty Savior of the
world .
In that, there is great love.
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH IN LOVE
Mt.5:43-48:
We express our love giving out the truth of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Not by warring.
In His love, refute the lies. Better we love them with His wisdom and truth and His heart
of eternal love. "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" .
And when they lie about Jesus feel sorrow,
for they shall never see Him, but in darkness and fires they will dwell forever, if they die in their sins.
Luke 6:27-32
Rom.
12:17-21
Like Steven, the first martyr of the church, full of The Spirit, who said, as the Jews were stoning him to death:
"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this he fell asleep"( Acts 7; see esp 7:54-60).
This
is our time to love (Eccl.3:8). To be examples. (1 Tim. 1:5). Don't rejoice when an enemy falls( Prov.24:17-20; 25:21).
If
we cannot war in love, only with distaste, better we stay home until we can.
JESUS, OUR HIGH PRIEST
Christ became our High Priest by His resurrection from the dead; He
has eternal life. We come to God through Christ (Heb.7:24-28; 9:24; 1Jn.2:1).
We are to confess our sins to our Father
through Him and live in the power of our new life, a life He gave us by His sacrifice and resurrection (Heb.8:1-2).
By
the Lord's daily intercession on our behalf, and the pleading of his blood, we can live our life here in His Spirit and, one
day soon, share in the rewards God has laid up for us in eternity. "Glory To The Lord"
I gratefully acknowledge the scholarship of many brethren that has benefited
me in this endeavor. May God bless this study and those He knows who helped me to organize it.
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